Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / Notices 86445 

Closing remarks 

Meeting Participation 

Advance registration is required. 

Please register at https://strategix

management.zoom.us/webinar/register/

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registration by the deadline referenced 

in the DATES section. The meeting will 

be open to the public for its entirety. 

The U.S. Department of Transportation 

is committed to providing equal access 

to this meeting for all participants. If 

you need alternative formats or services 

because of a disability, such as sign 

language, interpretation, or other 

ancillary aids, please contact the point 

of contact listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section. Questions 

from the public will be answered during 

the public comment period only at the 

discretion of the ACTE chair, vice chair, 

and designated Federal officer. Members 

of the public may submit written 

comments and questions to the point of 

contact listed in the FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT section on the 

topics to be considered during the 

meeting by the deadline referenced in 

the DATES section. 

Dated: December 8, 2023. 

Irene Marion, 

Director, Departmental Office of Civil Rights. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27317 Filed 12–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4910–9X–P 

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities: Information Collection 

Renewal; Comment Request; OCC 

Guidelines Establishing Heightened 

Standards for Certain Large Insured 

National Banks, Insured Federal 

Savings Associations, and Insured 

Federal Branches 

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency (OCC), Treasury. 

ACTION: Notice and request for 

comment. 

SUMMARY: The OCC, as part of its 

continuing effort to reduce paperwork 

and respondent burden, invites 

comment on a continuing information 

collection, as required by the Paperwork 

Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA). In 

accordance with the requirements of the 

PRA, the OCC may not conduct or 

sponsor, and the respondent is not 

required to respond to, an information 

collection unless it displays a currently 

valid Office of Management and Budget 

(OMB) control number. The OCC is 

soliciting comment concerning the 

renewal of its information collection 

titled, ‘‘OCC Guidelines Establishing 

Heightened Standards for Certain Large 

Insured National Banks, Insured Federal 

Savings Associations, and Insured 

Federal Branches.’’ 

DATES: Comments must be received by 

February 12, 2024. 

ADDRESSES: Commenters are encouraged 

to submit comments by email, if 

possible. You may submit comments by 

any of the following methods: 

• Email: prainfo@occ.treas.gov. 

• Mail: Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Attention: Comment Processing, Office 

of the Comptroller of the Currency, 

Attention: 1557–0321, 400 7th Street 

SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington, DC 

20219. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: 400 7th 

Street SW, Suite 3E–218, Washington, 

DC 20219. 

• Fax: (571) 293–4835. 

Instructions: You must include 

‘‘OCC’’ as the agency name and ‘‘1557– 

0321’’ in your comment. In general, the 

OCC will publish comments on 

www.reginfo.gov without change, 

including any business or personal 

information provided, such as name and 

address information, email addresses, or 

phone numbers. Comments received, 

including attachments and other 

supporting materials, are part of the 

public record and subject to public 

disclosure. Do not include any 

information in your comment or 

supporting materials that you consider 

confidential or inappropriate for public 

disclosure. 

Following the close of this notice’s 

60-day comment period, the OCC will 

publish a second notice with a 30-day 

comment period. You may review 

comments and other related materials 

that pertain to this information 

collection beginning on the date of 

publication of the second notice for this 

collection by the method set forth in the 

next bullet. 

• Viewing Comments Electronically: 

Go to www.reginfo.gov. Hover over the 

‘‘Information Collection Review’’ tab 

and click on ‘‘Information Collection 

Review’’ from the drop-down menu. 

From the ‘‘Currently under Review’’ 

drop-down menu, select ‘‘Department of 

the Treasury’’ and then click ‘‘Submit.’’ 

This information collection can be 

located by searching OMB control 

number ‘‘1557–0321’’ or ‘‘OCC 

Guidelines Establishing Heightened 

Standards for Certain Large Insured 

National Banks, Insured Federal Savings 

Associations, and Insured Federal 

Branches.’’ Upon finding the 

appropriate information collection, click 

on the related ‘‘ICR Reference Number.’’ 

On the next screen, select ‘‘View 

Supporting Statement and Other 

Documents’’ and then click on the link 

to any comment listed at the bottom of 

the screen. 

• For assistance in navigating 

www.reginfo.gov, please contact the 

Regulatory Information Service Center 

at (202) 482–7340. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shaquita Merritt, Clearance Officer, 

(202) 649–5490, Chief Counsel’s Office, 

Office of the Comptroller of the 

Currency, 400 7th Street SW, 

Washington, DC 20219. If you are deaf, 

hard of hearing, or have a speech 

disability, please dial 7–1–1 to access 

telecommunications relay services. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Under the 

PRA (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.), Federal 

agencies must obtain approval from the 

OMB for each collection of information 

that they conduct or sponsor. 

‘‘Collection of information’’ is defined 

in 44 U.S.C. 3502(3) and 5 CFR 

1320.3(c) to include agency requests or 

requirements that members of the public 

submit reports, keep records, or provide 

information to a third party. Section 

3506(c)(2)(A) of title 44 generally 

requires Federal agencies to provide a 

60-day notice in the Federal Register 

concerning each proposed collection of 

information, including each proposed 

extension of an existing collection of 

information, before submitting the 

collection to OMB for approval. To 

comply with this requirement, the OCC 

is publishing notice of the renewal/ 

revision of this collection. 

Title: OCC Guidelines Establishing 

Heightened Standards for Certain Large 

Insured National Banks, Insured Federal 

Savings Associations, and Insured 

Federal Branches. 

OMB Control No.: 1557–0321. 

Description: The OCC’s guidelines, 

codified in 12 CFR part 30, appendix D, 

establish minimum standards for the 

design and implementation of a risk 

governance framework for insured 

national banks, insured Federal savings 

associations, and insured Federal 

branches of a foreign bank (banks). The 

guidelines apply to covered banks. A 

covered bank is a bank with average 

total consolidated assets: (i) equal to or 

greater than $50 billion; (ii) less than 

$50 billion if that bank’s parent 

company controls at least one insured 

national bank or insured Federal savings 

association that has average total 

consolidated assets of $50 billion or 

greater; or (iii) less than $50 billion, if 

the OCC determines such bank’s 

operations are highly complex or 

otherwise present a heightened risk as 


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86446 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / Notices 

1 79 FR 54518. 

2 12 U.S.C. 1831p–1. Section 39 was enacted as 

part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

Improvement Act of 1991, Public Law 102–242, 

section 132(a), 105 Stat. 2236, 2267–70. 

to warrant the application of the 

guidelines. The guidelines also establish 

minimum standards for a board of 

directors in overseeing the framework’s 

design and implementation. These 

guidelines were finalized on September 

11, 2014.1 The OCC is now seeking to 

renew the information collection 

associated with these guidelines. The 

standards contained in the guidelines 

are enforceable under section 39 of the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Act (FDIA),2

which authorizes the OCC to prescribe 

operational and managerial standards 

for insured national banks, insured 

Federal savings associations, and 

insured Federal branches of a foreign 

bank. 

The guidelines formalize the OCC’s 

heightened expectations program. The 

guidelines also further the goal of the 

Dodd–Frank Wall Street Reform and 

Consumer Protection Act of 2010 to 

strengthen the financial system by 

focusing management and boards of 

directors on improving and 

strengthening risk management 

practices and governance, thereby 

minimizing the probability and impact 

of future financial crises. The standards 

for the design and implementation of 

the risk governance framework, which 

contain collections of information, are 

as follows: 

Standards for Risk Governance 

Framework 

Covered banks should establish and 

adhere to a formal, written risk 

governance framework designed by 

independent risk management. The 

framework should include delegations 

of authority from the board of directors 

to management committees and 

executive officers and risk limits for 

material activities. The framework 

should be approved by the board of 

directors or the board’s risk committee, 

and it should be reviewed and updated, 

at least annually, by independent risk 

management. 

Front Line Units 

Front line units should take 

responsibility and be held accountable 

by the chief executive officer (CEO) and 

the board of directors for appropriately 

assessing and effectively managing all of 

the risks associated with their activities. 

In fulfilling this responsibility, each 

front line unit should, either alone or in 

conjunction with another organizational 

unit that has the purpose of assisting a 

front line unit: (i) assess, on an ongoing 

basis, the material risks associated with 

its activities and use such risk 

assessments as the basis for fulfilling its 

responsibilities and for determining if 

actions need to be taken to strengthen 

risk management or reduce risk given 

changes in the unit’s risk profile or 

other conditions and (ii) establish and 

adhere to a set of written policies that 

include front line unit risk limits. Such 

policies should ensure risks associated 

with the front line unit’s activities are 

effectively identified, measured, 

monitored, and controlled, consistent 

with the covered bank’s risk appetite 

statement, concentration risk limits, and 

all policies established within the risk 

governance framework. Front line units 

should also establish and adhere to 

procedures and processes, as necessary 

to maintain compliance with the 

policies described in (ii). Front line 

units should furthermore adhere to all 

applicable policies, procedures, and 

processes established by independent 

risk management. Front line units 

should also develop, attract, and retain 

talent and maintain staffing levels 

required to carry out the unit’s role and 

responsibilities effectively; establish 

and adhere to talent management 

processes; and establish and adhere to 

compensation and performance 

management programs. 

Independent Risk Management 

Independent risk management should 

oversee the covered bank’s risk-taking 

activities and assess risks and issues 

independent of the front line units. In 

fulfilling these responsibilities, 

independent risk management should: 

(i) take responsibility and be held 

responsible by the CEO and the board of 

directors for designing a comprehensive 

written risk governance framework that 

meets the guidelines and is 

commensurate with the size, 

complexity, and risk profile of the 

covered bank; (ii) identify and assess, on 

an ongoing basis, the covered bank’s 

material aggregate risks and use such 

risk assessments as the basis for 

fulfilling its responsibilities and for 

determining if actions need to be taken 

to strengthen risk management or 

reduce risk given changes in the covered 

bank’s risk profile or other conditions; 

(iii) establish and adhere to enterprise 

policies that include concentration risk 

limits that state how aggregate risks 

within the covered bank are effectively 

identified, measured, monitored, and 

controlled, consistent with the covered 

bank’s risk appetite statement and all 

policies and processes established 

within the risk governance framework; 

(iv) establish and adhere to procedures 

and processes, as necessary, to ensure 

compliance with policies in (iii); (v) 

identify and communicate to the CEO 

and either the board of directors or the 

board’s risk committee any material 

risks and significant instances where the 

independent risk management’s 

assessment of risk differs from that of a 

front line unit and any significant 

instances where a front line unit is not 

adhering to the risk governance 

framework; (vi) identify and 

communicate to the board of directors 

or the board’s risk committee material 

risks and significant instances where 

independent risk management’s 

assessment of risk differs from that of 

the CEO and significant instances where 

the CEO is not adhering to, or not 

holding front line units accountable for 

adhering to, the risk governance 

framework; and (vii) develop, attract, 

and retain talent and maintain the 

staffing levels required to carry out the 

unit’s role and responsibilities 

effectively while establishing and 

adhering to talent management 

processes and compensation and 

performance management programs. 

Internal Audit 

Internal audit should ensure that the 

covered bank’s risk governance 

framework complies with the guidelines 

and is appropriate for the size, 

complexity, and risk profile of the 

covered bank. It should maintain a 

complete and current inventory of all of 

the covered bank’s material processes, 

product lines, services, and functions 

and assess the risks, including emerging 

risks, associated with each. These risks 

collectively provide a basis for the audit 

plan. Internal audit should establish and 

adhere to an audit plan that: (i) is 

periodically reviewed and updated; (ii) 

takes into account the covered bank’s 

risk profile, emerging risks, and issues; 

and (iii) establishes the frequency with 

which activities should be audited. The 

audit plan should require internal audit 

to evaluate the adequacy of and 

compliance with policies, procedures, 

and processes established by front line 

units and independent risk management 

under the risk governance framework. 

Significant changes to the audit plan 

should be communicated to the board’s 

audit committee. Internal audit should 

report, in writing, conclusions, material 

issues, and recommendations from audit 

work carried out under the audit plan to 

the board’s audit committee. Reports 

should identify the root cause of any 

material issues and include: (i) a 

determination of whether the root cause 

creates an issue that has an impact on 

one or more organizational units within 

the covered bank; and (ii) a 

determination of the effectiveness of 


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Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 238 / Wednesday, December 13, 2023 / Notices 86447 

front line units and independent risk 

management in identifying and 

resolving issues in a timely manner. 

Internal audit should establish and 

adhere to processes for independently 

assessing the design and ongoing 

effectiveness of the risk governance 

framework on at least an annual basis. 

The independent assessment should 

include a conclusion on the covered 

bank’s compliance with the standards 

set forth in the guidelines. Internal audit 

should identify and communicate to the 

board’s audit committee significant 

instances where front line units or 

independent risk management are not 

adhering to the risk governance 

framework. Internal audit should 

establish a quality assurance program 

that ensures internal audit’s policies, 

procedures, and processes: (i) comply 

with applicable regulatory and industry 

guidance; (ii) are appropriate for the 

size, complexity, and risk profile of the 

covered bank; (iii) are updated to reflect 

changes to internal and external risk 

factors, emerging risks, and 

improvements in industry internal audit 

practices; and (iv) are consistently 

followed. Internal audit should develop, 

attract, and retain talent and maintain 

staffing levels required to effectively 

carry out its role and responsibilities. 

Internal audit should establish and 

adhere to talent management processes 

and compensation and performance 

management programs that comply with 

the guidelines. 

Strategic Plan 

The CEO, with input from front line 

units, independent risk management, 

and internal audit, should be 

responsible for the development of a 

written strategic plan that covers, at a 

minimum, a three-year period. The 

board of directors should evaluate and 

approve the plan and monitor 

management’s efforts to implement the 

strategic plan at least annually. The plan 

should: (i) include a comprehensive 

assessment of risks that currently 

impact the covered bank or that could 

have an impact on the covered bank 

during the period covered by the 

strategic plan; (ii) articulate an overall 

mission statement and strategic 

objectives for the covered bank with an 

explanation of how the covered bank 

will update the risk governance 

framework to account for changes to its 

risk profile projected under the strategic 

plan; and (iii) be reviewed, updated, 

and approved due to changes in the 

covered bank’s risk profile or operating 

environment that were not 

contemplated when the plan was 

developed. 

Risk Appetite Statement 

A covered bank should have a 

comprehensive written statement that 

articulates its risk appetite and serves as 

the basis for the risk governance 

framework. The statement should 

contain both qualitative components 

that describe a safe and sound risk 

culture and how the covered bank will 

assess and accept risks and quantitative 

limits that include sound stress testing 

processes and address earnings, capital, 

and liquidity. 

Risk Limit Breaches 

A covered bank should establish and 

adhere to processes that require front 

line units and independent risk 

management to: (i) identify breaches of 

the risk appetite statement, 

concentration risk limits, and front line 

unit risk limits; (ii) distinguish breaches 

based on the severity of their impact; 

(iii) establish protocols for when and 

how to inform the board of directors, 

front line unit management, 

independent risk management, internal 

audit, and the OCC regarding a breach; 

(iv) provide a written description of the 

breach resolution; and (v) establish 

accountability for reporting and 

resolving breaches that include 

consequences for risk limit breaches 

that take into account the magnitude, 

frequency, and recurrence of breaches. 

Concentration Risk Management 

The risk governance framework 

should include policies and supporting 

processes appropriate for the covered 

bank’s size, complexity, and risk profile 

for effectively identifying, measuring, 

monitoring, and controlling the covered 

bank’s concentrations of risk. 

Risk Data Aggregation and Reporting 

The risk governance framework 

should include a set of policies, 

supported by appropriate procedures 

and processes, designed to provide risk 

data aggregation and reporting 

capabilities appropriate for the covered 

bank’s size, complexity, and risk profile 

and to support supervisory reporting 

requirements. Collectively, these 

policies, procedures, and processes 

should provide for: (i) the design, 

implementation, and maintenance of a 

data architecture and information 

technology infrastructure that support 

the covered bank’s risk aggregation and 

reporting needs during normal times 

and during times of stress; (ii) the 

capturing and aggregating of risk data 

and reporting of material risks, 

concentrations, and emerging risks in a 

timely manner to the board of directors 

and the OCC; and (iii) the distribution 

of risk reports to all relevant parties at 

a frequency that meets their needs for 

decision-making purposes. 

Talent and Compensation Management 

A covered bank should establish and 

adhere to processes for talent 

development, recruitment, and 

succession planning. The board of 

directors or appropriate committee 

should review and approve a written 

talent management program. A covered 

bank should also establish and adhere to 

compensation and performance 

management programs that comply with 

any applicable statute or regulation. 

Board of Directors Training and 

Evaluation 

The board of directors of a covered 

bank should establish and adhere to a 

formal, ongoing training program for all 

directors. The board of directors should 

also conduct an annual self-assessment. 

Type of Review: Regular. 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit. 

Estimated Number of Respondents: 

27. 

Estimated Burden per Respondent: 

3,776 hours. 

Estimated Total Annual Burden: 

101,952 hours. 

Comments submitted in response to 

this notice will be summarized and 

included in the request for OMB 

approval. All comments will become a 

matter of public record. Comments are 

invited on: 

(a) Whether the collection of 

information is necessary for the proper 

performance of the functions of the 

OCC, including whether the information 

has practical utility; 

(b) The accuracy of the OCC’s 

estimate of the burden of the collection 

of information; 

(c) Ways to enhance the quality, 

utility, and clarity of the information to 

be collected; 

(d) Ways to minimize the burden of 

the collection on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology; and 

(e) Estimates of capital or start-up 

costs and costs of operation, 

maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information. 

Patrick T. Tierney, 

Assistant Director, Bank Advisory, Office of 

the Comptroller of the Currency. 

[FR Doc. 2023–27294 Filed 12–12–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4810–33–P 


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